


Head Case

by Haywire



Category: Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Body Horror, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-27
Updated: 2012-10-27
Packaged: 2017-11-17 03:15:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/547036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haywire/pseuds/Haywire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Harry Dresden goes out for a walk alone one late October night, his thoughts on not wanting to be alone lead him into a situation where he'd much rather be left alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Head Case

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Spook Me 2012 on LJ. Harry Dresden and all associated characters belong to Jim Butcher and not me. Warning is for graphic depiction of some scary / gross stuff / body horror.

Hallowe’en wasn’t on my top ten holiday list, which might come as a surprise to some people. Sure, I was a wizard, but that didn’t mean I had to love all things related to magic and the occult. Or, in the case of All Hallows’ Eve, things people associated with the occult even if they really weren’t. Even if people had it wrong, however, there was still a lot of power behind all of that belief in people’s view of Hallowe’en, so I preferred to keep a low profile during the occasion.

Plus I liked to keep my candy to myself.

Ok, that wasn’t completely true. Especially this year, since it was one of those years where October 31st fell on a weekday and the kiddies who went trick or treating - and consequently those miscreant teens who leaned almost exclusively on the former - were out and about on the weekend before the last day of the month. Call me a sucker for kids but on those occasions I would pick up some chips and candy - always erring on the side of caution, knowing it wouldn’t go to waste - and stayed at home to see who showed up at my door.

The wards I always kept up on my house stayed in place, but on those nights when the kiddies were out I relaxed them to some degree. It required some extra effort on my part but it was worth it for the entertainment. Plus it wouldn’t be very neighborly of me to allow some poor, unsuspecting kid to blow up when he or she approached my front door. Not that that’s ever happened to me before but better safe than sorry and all that.

Tonight, however, wasn't one of those nights. It was a few nights before the trick or treaters came around, but it was still a spooky night. The moon, not quite full but to the untrained eye it was hard to tell the difference, was partially obscured by dark, foreboding clouds. The stars themselves all seemed to wink in and out more often than normal, an intergalactic sign of uneasiness. It was as if a scary atmosphere had settled smack down on top of all of Chicago.

in other words, it was the perfect night for a walk.

Normally my main excuse for walking was my gigantic dog, Mouse, who I didn't so much walk as he walked me. Thomas had borrowed him for the evening, however; as much as I know my brother would deny it, he'd become attached to the dog while we lived together, and the feeling was mutual. Every now and then he'd babysit for me, as it were, though I was pretty sure Thomas used him to pick up chicks most of the time. Not that he really needed Mouse's assistance but hey, it couldn't hurt.

So I was on my own for this stroll. Which was fine by me. Hell, I'd taken care of myself for years before finding out I'd had a brother, before having a miniature tank as a pet dog, before becoming a warden, before taking on an apprentice. Come to think of it, this had been the first time in a long time I'd had any alone time period. Which of course instantly made me feel a little lonely. Having friends, even family, would've been an alien feeling to me not that long ago. I'd grown accustomed to it now, but the absence of those people around me, even for such a short period of time... hells bells, I was getting soft in my old age, wasn't I?

I shrugged off the feeling and resolved to go for a walk. Grabbing my trusty duster and my blasting rod - because let's face it, anything could happen regardless what time of the year it was - I headed outside. The cold, crisp air filled my lungs and reinvigorated me. I considered going back inside and switching into some sweatpants and jogging gear before realizing that'd be pushing it.

Leaves crunched underfoot as I made my way around the block. It was so nice out that I said screw it and continued on longer and farther than I'd intended. Pretty soon I found myself in an unfamiliar and rough looking neighborhood several blocks from home. I didn't mind that part, since I could take care of myself, it was just strange that no one else seemed to be around. Even at this hour of night it was commonplace to see several cars buzzing to and fro, or people hanging out on street corners or walking along the sidewalks. Hell, it was a weekend before Halloween, there should be more traffic than usual, both vehicular and pedestrian.

That's I realized I was being followed. I hadn't picked up on it earlier, which surprised me, but someone or something was definitely tracking me. It was at a fair distance, which probably factored in with my not detecting it sooner, but with less people around its presence became more obvious. I hastily gathered up some will, preparing to defend myself just in case.

It was fortunate that I had, as not more than a few heartbeats later a blinding light flashed out ahead of me. Reflexively I pushed my will through my shield bracelet on my right wrist and put my same hand out in front of me, my other hand gripping my blasting rod tightly. The shield flickered to life, blue white light flashing brightly against the dark sky as whatever beam that had been aimed my way deflected off of it and scarred the thick trunk of a tree on the side of the road.

Keeping my shield up I dashed to the sidewalk, taking cover behind said tree and leaning against it. Another blast of light sizzled past me as I moved, thrumming loudly as it flew through the space I'd occupied only a handful of seconds prior.

What the hell was happening? I reached out with my senses in an attempt to identify my assailants. There was an ever growing list of people with a grudge against yours truly - the downside of being good at what you do - so there were any number of possible culprits from which to choose. My tactics in response would depend largely on who or what I was fighting so the quicker I found that out the better.

Then something strange happened. I can't really describe it other than to say it was like the feeling I get when my magic messes with electronics or other complicated, modern equipment, only in reverse. It was me who felt short circuited, like something was screwing with my mind. Not only at, but it was affecting my magic. My shield, which had been strong and solid ever since I willed it to life, disappeared on me, the chilly autumn breeze now hitting my face adding insult to injury as further proof.

I tried to call my shield back but to no avail. My magic had simply vanished, like someone had hit its off switch. It was gone.

I leaned against the tree even harder now, since it was my sole defence until my magic came back. Assuming it would come back, that was, which was an exceptionally horrifying and chilling thought. Looking down at my hands as if that could help me figure out what was wrong, I saw a flicker of movement. Several, in fact, and not just a few. Squinting I saw hundreds, maybe even thousands of tiny metallic things crawling on my hand. They continued up along my arm, shoulder, and neck, emanating from the tree on which I'd been leaning. The area in which it had been shot revealed it hadn't been a simple blast of energy but instead a miniature capsule of some sort, containing these near microscopic things. My brain struggled to recall a word I'd heard before, from Butters or Molly or whoever I couldn't recall, but they might have been... nanites, was that it?

Before I could answer my own question I felt a stinging pain in my chest and I collapsed to the ground. My body refused to cooperate as my brain screamed at it to run, and the last thing I saw before going unconscious was three people standing in front of me, clad in dark black suits and sporting sunglasses.

*****

When I regained consciousness I winced, anticipating one hell of a headache. In my line of work you get used to being knocked unconscious and became familiar with the accompanying pain waking up from the same. This time there wasn't any, which was strange.

I tried to move, to test out if anything else hurt, but found myself restrained. My head had been strapped tightly to something along with my feet, arms, legs, and chest, which I was only able to observe with my eyes from my current position. I found that any attempt to even test my restraints failed, that my body was somehow paralyzed. Fighting back the surge of panic that threatened to overwhelm me, I attempted to gather my will and summon my magic to me. Still no dice. What was going on?

As if on cue, one of the persons I'd seen standing over me earlier that night came into view. One of his hands was raised to his ear and he was nodding as he listened to someone else through the device In his ear. When he saw I was conscious he whispered something into his hand before smiling ever so slightly and folding his hands in front of himself.

"I see you're awake Mr. Dresden. Excellent."

"I am. Did I miss the cutoff time for room service or is there still time to order something? Preferably a cake with a nail file in it or something like that." Not my best line but hey, cut me some slack, I'd just regained consciousness after all.

"Nice to see your renowned gallows humor is still intact as well. Good, good." The man, who I decided to label Asshole for now out of pure spite, grinned even more and waved to someone out of my sight behind me. "We were afraid your cognitive functions might have been damaged but this is a good sign."

"You didn't exactly hit me that hard, slick. Let me up and I'll show you just how good of a condition I'm in." I was pretty confident had he actually complied with my request I'd only fall to the floor in a limp, useless heap, but I wasn't about to admit that to Asshole there.

"Oh, it's not any physical impact with which we're concerned. It's more complicated than that." He held up a vial containing a silver liquid which, as he shook it a little, seemed to move of its own accord.

"Nanites." The word had somehow managed to stick in my skull even after passing out.

"Very good, Dresden. Someone's been doing their homework." Asshole put the vial down on a nearby table. "Right now billions of them are coursing through your body. Though you can't feel them I assure you, they're there."

"Does that make me a bionic wizard now? I gotta tell you, if Lee Majors sues then I'll have to tell them it wasn't my idea. You could have to she'll out some big dough to settle something like that."

"Tell me, Dresden." He ignored my words, taking a step closer to me. "Your magic. It's not there, is it?"

He watched me squirm and I ended him the satisfaction of confirming his statement, though my sudden silence must've screamed in the affirmative.

"The nanites, their sole purpose, well. Magic and technology don't mix, of course. What these do - brilliant invention, I might add, simply amazing," Asshole picked up the vial and shook it again before putting it back down. "What they do is they feed off of your chaos. Each individual one, while inconsequential overall, they are affected by your magic and the chaos it brings out in technology. In return, however, they take that chaos and feed it back. Just a little, but they can in turn have the same affect on other things. In this case, they turn the chaos right back against the very magic that activated it. One by itself, well, its effect would be negligible, but millions of them, billions?" He shook his head, looking from the vial to me. "Brilliant, truly brilliant. I've no idea how it works - something about quantum physics or some such thing I think - but you can't help but admire its design, can you? Such ingenuity, such elegance."

"It's fucking beautiful." was all I could muster in the circumstances. My mind was too busy wondering just who the hell could create such a thing and what I'd do to him or her if I ever got my hands on them.

"So in effect it's neutered you. Turned your own magic against you. The beautiful part is the more magic you have, the more it can use against you." Asshole grinned and rubbed his chin. "I wonder what that feels like, hmm? Missing that big a part of you. Something akin to phantom limb syndrome, perhaps. Or hunger? Someone like me may never know just what excruciating pain you're going through right at this moment. It won't last long though, I promise." Snapping his fingers, the man to whom he'd waved earlier came into view.

This man was garbed in scrubs, complete with a surgical mask and plastic glasses on his face and wearing a surgical cap. His gloved hands held a scalpel and both the gloves and the surgical instrument were reddened with someone's blood. Three guesses as to who that belonged and the first two don't count.

"You see, Dresden," Asshole continued. "Doctor Smith here has already begun his work. While the magic in you is contained, it's still there, rest assured. That's the good news." His grin widened again. "The bad news, however, is we're going to extract it. Limb from limb, organ from organ, cell by fucking cell if we have to. Which is not going to end well for you."

"The patient's neural functions are still intact, agent, and show no potential signs of extraction so far. We can move along." The doctor's voice - I settled on calling him Dick, because Doctor Dick had a nice ring to it - carried no emotion whatsoever. I guessed his bedside manner was probably lacking as well.

"Very well." Asshole nodded to the doctor, who disappeared out of sight once again. "We've already begun the process, first starting with your brain. The reason you can't feel anything, Dresden, is because we've strongly sedated you for the procedure. You know, the whole... well, here, let me show you." Moving towards the bed, he reached up and pulled down an overhead mirror attach to an arm on the ceiling and adjusted it for me.

The reflection showed Doctor Dick standing behind a man whose head and skull had been cut open, exposing the person's brain to the open air. Only it wasn't just any person. It was me. That was my brain on display for the world to see. Several pins were sticking in it at several locations, which I knew from old sci if and horror films that I could not feel because the brain doesn't have any nerves but dammit, seeing that... my eyes nearly rolled back into my head and it was all I could do not to throw up.

"You sick fucking bastards!" My voice wasn't more than a loud snarl even though my mind was screaming the emphasis of each and every damned syllable. I couldn't muster enough strength or breath to yell as loudly as my very soul was at that moment.

"Like I said, Dresden, it won't be long. We can't extract squat from you alive, apparently, so it's on to Plan B. Thank you for your cooperation, and your contributions will not be forgotten." Asshole waved to the doctor again and turned to leave.

The door in front of Asshole shattered and splinter into a million pieces as Mouse exploded through the frame, bowling the agent over onto the ground. Following him at a slower speed but still lightning fast, Thomas sprinted over to the doctor and dispatched him, turning to watch Mouse pinning his target to the floor.

It was only then when they had neutralized the threat that Thomas saw what had been done to Harry. Normally a pale skinned White Court vampire, he went even whiter when he saw what they'd done. "Jesus Harry. I... fuck." He reached for a cell phone and made a call to someone. With all the excitement and knowing that Thomas and Mouse were there, I finally succumbed to the fucking nightmare I'd just witnessed and passed out once again.

*****

This time when I woke up I was back in my own bed. It was several minutes before I even attempted to move in the slightest for fear that I wouldn't be able to, but when I was able to wiggle my pinky finger just the tiniest fraction I nearly wept with joy.

Thomas, who had been sitting in a chair in the corner of my room, caught the motion and jumped to his feet.

"Harry, you're awake. Don't try to move too much, ok? You're alright but stay still."

"No argument there, doc." The whole feeling I described before, about waking up after being knocked out and having a headache after waking up? Multiply that by about a million or three and that's what I was feeling. But I was feeling something which was most important.

Thomas explained what had happened. He'd found me several hours after I'd left for my walk, thanks to Mouse somehow knowing I was in danger and being able to track me down. They'd brought me to a local hospital where they'd cordoned off an entire wing to do their macabre experiments. Whoever they were they had serious connections and power. Once they found me they took out the contingent of men in black fairly easily, but then again they probably hadn't counted on having to deal with a powerful vampire and a mystical dog when they drew up their plans for a defensive perimeter.

it had taken several called in favors from both the Never Never and the mortal world alike to get those goddamned nanites removed and to patch me back up - thankfully there was no real damage done, aside from, you know, cutting open my scalp and removing a large chunk of my skull - but in enough time I would recover. The nanites they extracted were forfeited in the deal to save my life, to whom I don't know, and Thomas also wouldn't expand on who else he'd made deals with for my life - my godmother comes to mind but he won't tell me - but I'd live.

Which was good, because I had a hell of a lot of payback to deliver.


End file.
